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October 8, 2012

Top 20 New Mega Donors

Wealth-X tags the new crop of elite philanthropists following in the footsteps of Carnegie and Rockefeller

Who are the top 20 new Carnegies and Rockefellers?

Wealth-X, the research outfit that keeps its eye on the doings of the ultra wealthy, has come up with a list of the next 20 mega donors “based on their efforts to emulate forebears of modern major giving, such as Carnegie and Rockefeller.”

Four of these emerging mega philanthropists are Americans, while seven come from India and China. During the past three years, they have contributed a total of $250 million, Wealth-X said.

These donors were focused on causes related to higher education, followed by health and social programs and support for the humanities. Fifty-six percent of Asian emerging mega donors and 55% of the top 20 donors gave to educational causes.

Forty-five percent of the elite donors are from Asia. They gave on average a larger proportion of their income to philanthropy than the average American.

Wealth-X said mega donors prefer “organized philanthropy,” and many are actively involved in causes they fund.

Following are the Top 20 New Mega Donors in order of percentage of wealth donated:

(Solomon Lew, No. 18, of Australia and his wife, Rosie. Photo: AP)

No. 20

India: Indu Jain, 77, has a net worth of $2.2 billion, amassed in the media sector. She contributes 0.01% of her wealth to higher education.

No. 19

Greece: Philip Niarchos, 58, has a net worth of $2.6 billion. The investor donates 0.02% of his fortune to education and humanitarian aid.

No. 18

Australia: Solomon Lew (above), 67, has a net worth of $1.2 billion made in retail and distribution. His philanthropic focus is arts, culture and the humanities to which he contributes 0.02% of his wealth.

U.S.: Adolph Alfred Taubman, 88, made his $2.5 billion fortune in real estate. His philanthropy focuses on higher education to which he contributes 0.6% of his wealth.

No. 10

China: Ka Yan Hui, 54, has a net worth of $5.6 billion made in real estate. He donates 0.68% to public, social benefit and higher education.

No. 9

China: Dongsheng Chen, 55, amassed $2.2 billion in the insurance sector. His charitable focus is higher education to which he donates 0.79% of his wealth.

(No. 6 Tom Golisano of the U.S. holds a $5 million check annoucing the formation of his New York PAC in 2008. Photo: AP)

No. 8

Canada: N. Murray Edwards, 53, has a net worth of $1.4 billion from the oil and gas sector. He gives away 0.86% to education and health causes.

No. 7

Singapore: Peter Eng Hock Lim, 59, has a net worth of $1.8 billion from investments. His charitable-giving focus is public, social benefit, youth and education to which he contributes 0.86% of his fortune.

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